Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the improvement in UK productivity that will result from building the HS2 railway.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport published the Phase 1 HS2 business case in April 2020. Paragraph 2.85 and Figure 2.2 of this document set out the breakdown of the total GDP impacts (£82bn at 2015 prices) of the HS2 programme. Whilst total productivity impact has not been formally estimated, the constituent parts of the GDP benefits provide estimated impacts which are important sources of productivity gains. The £60bn of business user benefits could be translated as direct gains from productivity improvements to business users. Similarly, the impacts from agglomeration (£14bn) due to HS2 captures the impact from improved productivity through urbanisation, and some labour supply impacts (£2bn) through positive labour market dynamics. HS2 is expected to be transformational, and the wider impacts are likely to be much more significant than currently estimated in the business case. Some of these impacts have been explained in the Strategic Case, regarding skills and employment impacts, innovation and technological changes etc. However, the wider economic impact has not been fully quantified in the economic case. This lack quantification of important and significant wider benefits was reflected in Conclusion 49 of the Oakervee Review. Also, given that the significance of investments entailing HS2, it will likely have macro-economic impacts on labour and other markets, that may drive up productivity gains. Combining the change to economic geography, dynamic agglomeration and improving access to higher productivity jobs, with the wider macro-economic impacts of the scheme, the productivity impact is likely to be significant. The Department is working with its arm’s length bodies to develop the evidence on transformational impacts and will aim to incorporate some such evidence, when assured, in future business cases.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Construction

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the cost of building each stage of the HS2 railway.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: As set out in the latest 6-monthly Parliamentary report published in March 2021, the total estimated cost ranges for each Phase is as follows:Phase One: £35bn - £45bnPhase 2a: £5bn – £7bnPhase 2b: £32bn – £46bn* The numbers include contingency to accommodate unforeseeable cost pressures which may emerge during construction, as is to be expected with all major infrastructure projects. *Validation of the Phase 2b cost range is ongoing and will be updated to support the bringing forward of separate legislation for the HS2 route into Manchester, in line with the conclusions of the Oakervee Review. The range provided excludes scope intended to be funded by other sources such as Northern Powerhouse Rail.

West Coast Railway Line

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to safeguard the Holyhead to London line as part of the proposed reorganisation of Rail Services in England .

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: On 20th May, Government published Great British Railways: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail – a blueprint for a more customer focused, reliable and growing railway. The biggest reform and simplification of our railways in 30 years will bring “track and train” together under single national leadership in a new public body – Great British Railways – accountable to ministers. Great British Railways will own the infrastructure, collect fare revenue, run and plan the network, set the timetable and most fares. As set out in The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, a joint working agreement between Transport for Wales and Great British Railways will be explored to improve the rail offer in Wales.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Restart Grant Scheme

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure local authorities are issuing Restart Grants within the required timeframe.

Lord Callanan: The £5 billion Restart Grants scheme announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 March 2021 are one-off grants to businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors to support businesses to reopen as covid-19 restrictions are lifted in the coming months. Throughout the pandemic, BEIS officials have worked closely with Local Authorities to ensure that grants are delivered as quickly as possible, while safeguarding public funds.   As the range of grants available has increased, officials have continued regular briefings with all 314 Local Authorities. Ministers have also held regular conversations with leaders and chief executives. Officials continue to engage with Local Authorities to ensure compliance to both the scheme rules and wider reporting requirements. We will be releasing data on Restart Grant payments in due course.

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen: Finance

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what investments they are making which are specifically targeted at (1) the science, and (2) the skills base, underpinning hydrogen technologies; and what plans they have to introduce a new policy framework for the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies as part of their decarbonisation strategy.

Lord Callanan: The £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio and its forerunner, the Energy Innovation Programme, seek to accelerate the commercialisation of low carbon technologies, systems and business models. These programmes include the new £60 million Low-Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 competition which is aimed at accelerating the development of a wide range of innovative low-carbon hydrogen supply solutions; and the Hy4Heat Programme, which is working to establish if it is technically possible, safe and convenient to replace natural gas (methane) with hydrogen in residential and commercial buildings. Hy4Heat has worked with Energy & Utility Skills to develop a competency framework for skills accreditation for heating engineers working with hydrogen. We have also delivered projects such as the £20 million Industrial Fuel Switching which includes the first demonstrations of firing hydrogen at commercial fuel supply scale for the manufacture of cement and lime. Furthermore, the £10 million Green Distilleries Competition is supporting nine feasibility studies for low-carbon hydrogen-related projects. BEIS has also let a contract to the University of Cambridge to explore the atmospheric impacts of hydrogen release. My Rt.Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan was clear on our aim for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 for use across the economy. The forthcoming Hydrogen Strategy will set out what is required to build a hydrogen economy fit for 2030, Carbon Budget 6 and beyond, whilst maximising economic benefits and supporting job and skills. We will also consult on priority policies, including hydrogen business models, a low carbon hydrogen standard, and the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.

Small Businesses: Climate Change

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require mandatory climate reporting for small and medium sized businesses.

Lord Callanan: The Government and regulators have concluded that to accelerate progress on climate risk disclosures, the UK will become the first country in the world to make Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)-aligned disclosures fully mandatory across the economy by 2025, with most requirements coming into force by 2023. The UK Government recently published a consultation on Mandatory Climate-related Financial Disclosures, which closed on 5 May. The proposal covers larger companies and is consistent with the roadmap towards mandatory and climate related disclosures, and the interim report that was published in November 2020, which noted that the benefits of mandatory disclosures are likely to increase with an organisation’s size. We will now carefully consider all of the responses to the consultation and a response will be published by the end of the year. BEIS has committed to review the case for expanding the scope of the regulations in 2023.

Electricity Interconnectors

Lord Grantchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further the answer byBaroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist on 18 May (HL Deb, cols 434–5), whether the Planning Inspectorate’s report on the AQUIND interconnector will be published before the Secretary of State makes his decision.

Lord Callanan: The Planning Inspectorate’s report and my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s decision to grant or refuse development consent for the proposed Aquind Interconnector will be published at the same time on the Planning Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Planning website.

Nuclear Power

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their target for the percentage of the UK’s electricity to be met by nuclear sources in 2030.

Lord Callanan: We do not have a specific target for the amount of nuclear we will need in 2030 to meet our electricity demand. As set out in the Energy White Paper (EWP) and the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan, the government believes in the importance of a diverse mix of energy sources to support a low carbon, secure and affordable electricity system. This includes nuclear and recognises the important role which can be played by both large and small scale reactors.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the latest evidence base which has led to the B1.351 COVID-19 variant being categorised as a variant of concern, particularly in regard to its transmissibility.

Lord Bethell: The B.1.351 COVID-19 variant was categorised as a variant of concern (VOC) on 23 December 2020 by the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group. The decision to raise this lineage to a VOC was taken on the basis of reports indicating that the strain had replaced pre-existing strains in parts of South Africa and that there were two cases of B.1.351 identified in the United Kingdom with links to travel from South Africa. The genetic variations identified in the spike protein of B.1.351 were also cause for concern.The three substitutions in the receptor binding domain, and in particular the E484K substitution, were thought to result in weaker neutralisation by some monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal neutralising sera. Although at the time there was no formal modelling from South Africa, the rapid spread of the variant could be consistent with increased transmissibility, which was also biologically plausible. More recent data has shown that B.1.351 has greater transmissibility than the original Wuhan strains of the virus. Evaluation was at an early stage when the recommendation to escalate this lineage was taken. A copy of PHE Risk assessment for SARS-CoV-2 variant: VOC-202012/02 (origin: South Africa) of 23 December is attached.PHE Risk assessment for SARS-CoV-2 variant (docx, 34.3KB)

NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of the NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) programme to the NHS since its inception.

Lord Bethell: The Local Improvement Finance Trust programme set up in 2001 has secured investment of over £2.5 billion to deliver 350 high quality, modern primary care and community facilities and supporting the integration of local services for the benefit of patients. The portfolio provides well maintained and flexible clinical space for over 1,400 individual general practitioner practices, dentists, community services, acute trusts, pharmacies and other healthcare professionals.

Vitamin D

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 1 February (HL12508), what assessment they have made of the recommendation of the Irish Joint Committee on Health for people in that country to take a daily dose of Vitamin D at least two times higher than the dose recommended by Public Health England; and what steps they intend to take as a result.

Lord Bethell: Public Health England has not made a formal assessment.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 27 April (HL14926), whether they have worked with specialists to ascertain the appropriate level of support for clinical extremely vulnerable people after having their COVID-19 vaccine.

Lord Bethell: The Department continues to engage with specialists, including senior clinicians, to assess vaccine efficacy and ensure that the guidance and support provided to clinically extremely vulnerable individuals is appropriate.

Asthma: Health Services

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by Asthma UK Asthma Care in a Crisis, published on 5 May, what plans they have to improve the percentage of people with asthma who are receiving all elements of basic asthma care.

Lord Bethell: The content of the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) asthma review, which ensures all general practitioner practices establish and maintain a register of patients with an asthma diagnosis, has been amended to incorporate the key elements of basic asthma care positively associated with better patient outcomes and self-management, including:- An assessment of asthma control;- A recording of the number of exacerbations;- An assessment of inhaler technique; and- A written personalised asthma action plan.The QOF for 2021/22 has been implemented from April 2021 with these updated indicators for asthma.

Coronavirus: Immunotherapy

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government when treatments for immunocompromised groups, including monoclonal antibody therapies, will be available as an alternative to COVID-19 vaccines; and which groups will be able to access those treatments.

Lord Bethell: Immunocompromised individuals are a priority cohort for research into therapeutic and prophylaxis treatments such as monoclonal antibody therapies, novel antivirals and repurposed compounds.A wide range of treatments in all three of these groups are currently in clinical trials in the United Kingdom and the Government is monitoring trials worldwide. It is not yet possible to determine the exact patient groups who may be able to benefit from these treatments, as this will depend on results released by the ongoing trials when they conclude, licensing approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and deployment planning between the Department, NHS England and expert clinicians. The Government is taking steps to ensure supply of treatments in the event that they are found to be effective at treating COVID-19, including for immunocompromised individuals.

Asthma: Health Services

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by Asthma UK Asthma Care in a Crisis, published on 5 May, what plans they have to ensure that people who are most at risk of having an asthma attack are (1) prioritised, and (2) seen face-to-face, when clinically necessary.

Lord Bethell: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s rapid guidance, on severe asthma during the pandemic recommends using technology to reduce in-person appointments. However, guidance on face-to-face appointments throughout the pandemic has been in line with clinical need.Work is continuing to recover primary care services, including services for asthma patients, to an appropriate level balance between phone/online and face to face appointments. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s updated practice on standard operating procedures for patient consultations states that although the use of video and remote consultations may be suitable for some people, face to face appointments will be offered.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with (1) the devolved administrations, and (2) travel companies, to ensure that the costs of COVID-19 test kits are not a prohibitive factor to families on limited incomes having a summer holiday.

Lord Bethell: Government officials attend regular meetings with their counterparts from the devolved administrations to share updates and coordinate and align on testing efforts where possible. The Government also recognises that the devolved administrations have their own testing systems and individual discussions with the travel industry on international travel.Since requirements were introduced for international travel testing, the costs of testing have fallen significantly. The Government is committed to working with the travel industry and private testing providers to reduce the cost of travel testing whilst also ensuring travel is as safe as possible.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to cooperate with the scientific community of South Africa on genomic sequencing relating to COVID-19.

Lord Bethell: The United Kingdom has large-scale sequencing capacity and extensive specialist expertise and is uniquely positioned to help address global sequencing capability gaps. Through the New Variant Assessment Platform (NVAP) programme, Public Health England (PHE) will work to support global partners to strengthen their genomic sequencing capability, either by building on existing infrastructure or by conducting sequencing and analysis of samples in the UK if there is no in-country capability.The NVAP will also enable the biological assessment of emerging variants, strengthening horizon scanning and public health decision-making, both in this country and abroad. This includes a risk assessment from the point when a mutation is first identified, to ongoing assessment as more information becomes available. The platform will also agree pathways for biological analysis, diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics as appropriate. PHE is working with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to deploy a Technical Advisor for regional level support.

Drugs: Northern Ireland

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all over-the-counter medicines licensed for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are authorised to be placed on the market in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions(1) they have had, and (2) they are planning to have, with the government of the Republic of Ireland on the supply of over-the-counter medicines to Northern Ireland.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they havemade of the risk to supply of over-the-counter medicines to Northern Ireland as a result of the requirements of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advicethey have given to manufacturers of over-the-counter medicines on how their supply to Northern Ireland can be maintained given the requirements of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

Lord Bethell: The Government is considering all possible steps to help ensure the continuity of medicine supply to Northern Ireland, including over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. All OTC medicines can be licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as the regulator for Northern Ireland, in line with the European Union’s rules.The Department is working with the European Commission, as the representative of all EU Member States including Ireland, to resolve any outstanding issues relating to implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, including supply of OTC medicines. This includes discussions on medicines supply at recent meetings of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Specialised Committee attended by representatives from the EU Member States including Ireland.The Government is working closely with industry to assess the impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol on the availability of medicines, including OTC medicines and we are committed to helping ensure the continuity of supply for patients in Northern Ireland.We have provided guidance for manufacturers at the end of the transition period on how to maintain supply of medicines to Northern Ireland. We continue to work closely with industry partners, through our engagement channels and ad hoc queries and will continue to work alongside colleagues in the Border and Protocol Delivery Group and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to help ensure sector readiness for all implementation steps. We will set out the requirements for manufacturers to supply OTC medicines to Northern Ireland from 1 January 2022 in due course.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in individuals who are immunocompromised because of a health condition or who need to take immunosuppressants due to transplantation.

Lord Bethell: Public Health England (PHE) is monitoring effectiveness of vaccination in clinical risk groups including those with immunosuppression.Based on early data from PHE’s monitoring and increasing evidence indicating the potential for a reduction in transmission in those vaccinated, on 24 March 2021 the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) stated that early vaccination data indicate lower protection in vaccinated adults who are immunosuppressed. Those with severe immunosuppression are therefore more likely to suffer poor outcomes following infection and are less likely to benefit from the vaccines offered. The JCVI advised that adult household contacts of adults with severe immunosuppression, aged 16 years old and over, should be offered COVID-19 vaccination alongside priority group six. This will help reduce the risk of infection in those who may not be able to fully benefit from being vaccinated themselves.The JCVI will continue to review evidence on the use of vaccines in those with immunosuppression and will update its advice as necessary.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow immunocompromised people to be prioritised for a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Lord Bethell: To ensure ongoing protection for the United Kingdom population, particularly the most vulnerable, we are preparing for a potential booster vaccination programme. While we are planning for several potential scenarios, final decisions on the timing and scope of the booster programme in terms of when to give boosters to which groups and with which vaccines will not be taken until later this year, in line with results from key clinical studies. Any decision on a booster vaccination programme will be informed by independent advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

European Outline Convention On Transfrontier Co-operation Between Territorial Communities Or Authorities

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ratify Protocol No. 3 to the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities concerning Euroregional Co-operation Groupings to promote cooperation among local authorities.

Lord Greenhalgh: The UK has a long tradition of welcoming partnerships and cooperation among local authorities, and recognises that effective partnerships can enrich the economic, social and environmental success of communities.For example, in 2019, the UK and French Governments hosted a Summit in London to bring together over 100 local authority leaders and mayors from across the UK and France. Following the Summit, the British Embassy in Paris launched a ‘call for projects’ from partnerships between the UK and France. Through this initiative, UK Government provided seed funding for 3 projects between UK/France partners, including Glasgow and Marseille, Manchester and Montpelier, and Kent and Pas de Calais.To date, HMG has not considered the particular provisions of the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities and its Protocols, as necessary considering our existing legal framework, but this is something we will keep under review.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Coronavirus

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) prison staff, and (2) prisoners, have received their (a) first, and (b) second, COVID-19 vaccinations; and what progress they have made in restoring family visits to prisoners.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The total number of staff in Public Sector and Youth Custody Prisons who have declared that they have received their first COVID-19 vaccination, as at midday 21 May 2021, was 10,612. The total number of staff in Public Sector and Youth Custody Prisons who have declared that they have received their second COVID-19 vaccination, as at midday 21 May 2021, was 2,508.For prisoners in England as at the end of 14 May 2021, the total number who had received their first COVID-19 vaccination was 25,655. The total number of prisoners of all ages who had received their second COVID-19 vaccination was 8,485.Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service strongly encourages all staff and prisoners who are offered the Covid-19 vaccine, to take it. We ask employees to let us know when they have had each dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by recording their vaccine status on our HR system. As the disclosure of their vaccine status is entirely voluntary, it means the self-declaration rates presented below will be lower than the actual number of staff who have been vaccinated. However, the data collected to date is still valuable in understanding staff vaccination take up and coverage.We are acutely aware of the impact of the restrictions on family visits, and we have had to make some difficult decisions to protect both prisoners and staff. As of 20 May, 107 establishments have commenced delivery of Stage 3 of the National Framework for Prisons which allows for the delivery of social visits with social distancing and face coverings. We are also working with Public Health England and Public Health Wales to look at how we can take safe and incremental steps to improve the experience of such visits. As part of this work we are piloting lateral flow testing for visitors.

Young Offenders: Mental Health Services

Lord Laming: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to help the almost 500 children under the age of 18 held in youth detention to recover from the effects of being locked up for 23 hours per day over the past year.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: During the pandemic our priority has been to protect children in custody and the staff who support them. While the measures we have put in place have been successful in doing this, they have also necessarily, but regrettably, resulted in more limited regimes for young people, who now spend on average around five hours out of room each day in our under 18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs).Following the national restrictions announced in January, we have been able to maintain ‘face to face’ education and social visits in the youth estate (to take place virtually where possible). Average daily time out of room for children in YOIs has been largely increasing month on month since July and as of April, the daily average figure was the highest since March 2020, the start of the pandemic.We have continued to support regular phone calls with additional free phone credit and access to video calls to help children keep in touch with their families. We have also continued ‘SECURE STAIRS’ - a trauma-informed framework of integrated care jointly led by the NHS and the Youth Custody Service (YCS). This provides the foundations as to how the YCS works with children and has adapted its approach to meet the needs of children at this time. We have regularly communicated with staff and children to ensure they are aware and understand the reasoning as to why such measures have had to occur, with HM Inspectorate of Prisons acknowledging positive communication from managers in their published scrutiny visit reports.Given the uncertainty this period has presented, it has also been encouraging to see that levels of self-harm have fallen during the COVID-19 period, as reflected in latest published statistics (with the annualised rate of self-harming per 100 children and young people in the three months to December 2020 falling by 56% compared to the same period last year).We are also carrying out work to ensure that lessons learned from the COVID-19 period are taken into account going forwards, and the YCS has commissioned a programme of research, in collaboration with academics, to evaluate and learn lessons from the impact and response to COVID-19 with the results used to further inform recovery planning.

Driving: Disqualification

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in each of the last 10 years, how many drivers have successfully claimed 'exceptional hardship' when they have reached 12 penalty points and have therefore carried on driving.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: HMCTS records case management information about circumstances where there are grounds for mitigating the normal consequences of a driving conviction, but does not categorise specific data under ‘exceptional hardship’. In the Crown and magistrates’ courts there were 83,581 cases with no disqualification due to mitigating circumstances for the period 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2020.Examples of exceptional hardship are loss of employment; impact of employment on others; impact on the health and safety of others; caring for elderly or disabled relatives; mortgage default or other financial loss.

Television Licences: Non-payment

Baroness Hoey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many over 75 year-olds have been prosecuted for non-payment of the BBC licence fee since the free licence was abolished.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The Ministry of Justice holds data on prosecutions for TV licence evasion up to December 2020. Since the free TV licence was abolished in August 2020, there have been no prosecutions for defendants aged over 75 years.

Restraint Techniques: Children

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of children under the age of 16 who have been subject to handcuff restraint in the last 12 month period for which statistics are available.

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government what protocols exist governing the circumstances under which a person under the age of 16 can be subject to handcuff restraint.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: There are two settings in which a child aged 16 or under may be handcuffed: through interaction with the Police, or within a secure setting overseen by the Youth Custody Service. Owing to the way in which police use of force data is collected, data is recorded on the number of times a tactic was used, not the number of unique events or people involved in incidents. 36,279 police handcuffing tactics were recorded for those aged under 18 in the year ending March 2020. In 2019/20, in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres handcuffs were applied to children under the age of 16 on 117 occasions, involving 63 different individual children. Any use of force, including the use of handcuffs by the Police or within a secure setting, must be reasonable and necessary in the circumstances, proportionate to the threat posed and only the minimum force necessary may be used. The College of Policing is responsible for setting the standards and training to which police operate. Guidance on the use of force and restraint by the police is set out in the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice, which includes guidance on how to deal with vulnerable people. In Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres, handcuffs are one of a range of approved restraint techniques. Handcuffs are used as an ethical and safer alternative to physical restraint technique. The use of handcuffs must always be reasonable and proportionate, and with the aim of preventing harm occurring to the young person or others. A report must be made every time handcuffs are used.

Offences against Children: Rochdale

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money has been spent in legal aid for members of the Rochdale grooming gang; and what is their estimate of the amount of money spent assisting the victims of that gang.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The table below reflects the most recent legal aid costs held for each individual as at the time of writing. Costs are inclusive of both VAT and disbursements where applicable.DefendantSolicitor (Crown Court)Barrister (Crown Court)Police Station AdviceCourt of AppealCivil CostsAbdul Aziz£139,519£55,758£202£3,209 Adil Khan£200,350£67,465£216£780 Abdul Rauf£207,582£74,789£459£2,700 Shabir Ahmed£183,468£69,748£233£1,684 Mohammed Sajid£147,583£77,292 £4,301£194.40Mohammed Amin£132,249£57,552£205  Hamid Safi£143,644£54,747£211£870£520.20Abdul Qayyum£156,482£55,442 £3,469 Kabeer Hassan£138,130£45,026   It should be noted that these criminals did not receive a penny of these sums, which were paid to lawyers so that the criminals could face justice at a fair trial, following which they were imprisoned. Without legal representation, criminals could argue their trial was unfair and any convictions could be quashed. Defendants must pass a strict means test before being granted legal aid and they may have to pay it back if they are found guilty and can afford to do so.In 2021-22, the MoJ will provide just under £151m for victim and witness support services. This includes an extra £51m to increase support for rape and domestic abuse victims.We do not collect data on the costs of supporting individual victims.We understand how traumatic the court process can be, and despite the pandemic we are continuing to improve the support provided for victims. This includes protective screens and video links in every criminal court, more separate waiting rooms, as well as piloting the pre-recording of cross-examination for rape victims to help further reduce the stress of attending court. At the same time, a new Victims’ Bill – set out in the Queen’s Speech – will strengthen the rights of victims at every stage of the justice system.

Judiciary: Recruitment

Lord Dubs: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatplans they have, if any, to recruit retired judges and magistrates to serve on a temporary basis to reduce delays in court hearings; and, in bringing forward any such plans, what assessment they have made of their potential contribution to reducing these delays.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The mandatory retirement age for most judicial office holders, including magistrates and judges, is 70. The Lord Chief Justice (or in some instances the Senior President of Tribunals) may, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor, extend the appointment of judges below the High Court following their compulsory retirement date for a period of one year and for further one-year periods, up to the point at which the judge turns 75, where it is in the public interest to do so. In addition, many salaried judges may be authorised to sit in retirement on a fee paid basis.The government intends to legislate to raise the judicial mandatory retirement age (MRA) to 75 through the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill, to be introduced shortly. The legislation will include a transitional provision to enable retired magistrates who are younger than the new MRA to apply to return to the bench, subject to business need. The process by which such applications are to be made and considered will be set out in due course.These and other measures to increase judicial capacity to meet demand are crucial to ensure we can continue to support the recovery of our courts and tribunals and reduce delays in hearings.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) peacebuilding programmes, and (2) other peacebuilding initiatives, they intend to continue funding in South Sudan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As the country's best chance for achieving sustainable peace, the UK is at the forefront of international efforts to pressure South Sudan's leaders to fully implement the 2018 peace deal, including during my last visit in October 2020 and UK Special Envoy's visit in early May. More broadly, the UK supports a number of peacebuilding initiatives at a grassroots level via the UK Peacebuilding Opportunities Fund and the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan, to which the UK contributed £57.9m and up to nine military staff officers in 2020-21.

South Sudan: Armed Conflict

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of who is responsible for the attack on the village of Dungob Alei in South Sudan on 16 May.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK condemns the attack on the village of Dungob Alei on 16 May, for which the perpetrators have not been identified, but it follows a series violent clashes between the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka ethnic groups. We continue to press the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to resolve the status of Abyei and we support the role played by the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Abyei (UNISFA).

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress towards ensuring that all commitments entered into in thepeace deal signed in South Sudan in2018 are fully implemented; and which commitments are still to be put into effect.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Implementation of the 2018 Peace Agreement remains behind schedule, with continued delays to key tasks such as the unification of armed forces and transitional justice. As the country's best chance for achieving sustainable peace, the UK is at the forefront of international efforts to pressure South Sudan's leaders to meet their 2018 commitments in full, including during my last visit in October 2020 and the UK Special Envoy's visit in early May.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact of their cuts to financial support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh; and by what percentage has the amount been cut from the support given in the previous two years.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK remains a leading donor to the Rohingya response in Bangladesh despite the financial pressures. At the launch of the Joint Response Plan on 18 May, we announced £27.6 million in new funding to the Rohingya response in Bangladesh, bringing our total contribution over £320 million since the crisis started in 2017. This financial contribution will continue to deliver lifesaving aid, including food assistance, health services, water and sanitation, camp management, shelter, cooking gas, and protection for survivors of gender-based violence. We have prioritised this assistance and the consolidation of the provision of services to achieve better effectiveness, impact, and value for taxpayers' money. In addition to bilateral funding, the UK is providing support to the Rohingya refugee response through global funds such as the Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait, Central Emergency Response Fund and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. UK funds also support the Rohingya through the UN agencies and the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Civil Proceedings: Sanctions

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) companies, or (2) persons, subject to UK sanctions are also banned from initiating actions in UK courts.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The measures that may be imposed within the UK's independent sanctions framework include financial sanctions, immigration sanctions (travel bans), trade sanctions, and aircraft and shipping sanctions. Persons or entities designated under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 are not banned from initiating action in UK courts. Designated persons may seek an administrative review of their designation as set out in Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Act and apply for judicial reviews of decisions in accordance with Chapter 4 of Part 1 of the Act. Guidance on how to challenge UK sanctions is on GOV.UK.

Palestinians: Recognition of States

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to recognise Palestine as a sovereign nation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK will recognise a Palestinian state at a time when it best serves the objective of peace. We remain committed to a negotiated two-state solution that protects the peace and security of both Israelis and Palestinians.

Department for Work and Pensions

Job Entry Targeted Support

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have taken part in the Job Entry: Targeted Support scheme since it was launched on 5 October 2020; and how many of those have returned to permanent employment.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: Up to the end of April 2021 there have been 94,560 starts on the Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) scheme in England and Wales (launched 5 October 2020), and 3,800 starts on the scheme in Scotland (launched 25 January 2021). So far there have been 12,665 job outcomes in England and Wales and 160 job outcomes in Scotland (a job outcome is defined as when an individual achieves £1000 cumulative earnings within eight months of starting). It should be noted that JETS provides support for up to six months and many people who have started on the scheme will not yet have had time to achieve a job outcome.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Compost: Peat

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative cost of (1) peat free compost, and (2) compost incorporating peat; and what steps they are taking to reduce the cost of peat free materials to gardeners.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: In the recently published England Peat Action Plan we have committed to undertake a full consultation in 2021 on banning the sale of peat and peat containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this Parliament. As part of that consultation, we will be considering opportunities to reduce both the costs and availability of alternatives to peat in growing media. As outlined in the Action Plan, the Government is committed to working with the industry to understand the implications of our proposals, identify blockages and to working with the private sector to develop and enact solutions, thus making the transition to peat alternatives as seamless as possible. The England Peat Action Plan is attached.England Peat Action Plan (pdf, 2595.3KB)

Bees: Conservation

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the population of native bees; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which any such plans will (1) improve pollination, and (2) boost production of UK farming crops.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Pollinators are a priority for this Government. The National Pollinator Strategy sets out actions we are taking, with our many partners, to improve the status of bees and other pollinators in England on farmland and other areas. Our actions include restoring and creating habitat for bees and other wild and managed pollinators to thrive; acting on the pressures that impact on pollinators, including by supporting Integrated Pest Management (IPM); providing advice and raising awareness across society so that they can take action themselves; and supporting new monitoring and research. The Healthy Bees Plan 2030 sets out further action to improve honeybee health, alongside beekeeping associations and other stakeholders. In 2019 we published a synthesis of the evidence on the status of UK pollinators and pollination services. This assessment found evidence of declines or range contractions in wild bees and other insects but trends in the pollination service are less well understood. For this reason, it is also difficult to make predictions about changes in crop yield. We do know however that insect pollination directly increases the quantity and quality of yield in many crops in the UK. We also know that impacts of sub-optimal pollination have been identified in UK fruit crops. Boosting pollinator numbers therefore increases resilience and protects against risks to yield and maintains their crucial role in wild plant pollination. Research in this area is ongoing. For example, the publicly-funded Global Food Security programme’s ‘Resilient Pollinators’ project is looking at the implications of future land use change for the resilience of pollination services to UK agriculture.

Meat and Seafood: UK Trade with EU

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to decrease the paperwork burden for the meat and seafood industry as a result of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Government continues to consider means by which the burdens on traders can be minimised. Our longer term 2025 Border Strategy is aimed at modernising the customs and wider system. Defra has launched EHC Online, the new IT system that exporters of animals and products of animal origin will need to use to submit their export health certificates (EHCs) to ensure that their goods can successfully enter the EU. This has simplified the export health certification process and reduced the amount of paperwork that trade need to produce. Technical work is underway on the production of electronic EHCs and ePhytos. This work is being conducted in parallel with technical and policy discussions with the EU Commission to ensure the delivery is technically acceptable to the EU and does not necessitate further dialogue. This work has been accelerated as part of the GB-NI Digital Assistance Scheme but will be equally of benefit to GB-EU exporters certifying via EHC Online or Plant Health Export System. We are expecting this to be delivered this winter which should automate the transfer of export and import data between GB and EU systems, improve data quality, reduce re-keying of information, and enable the removal of some paper-based certificates.

Home Office

Windrush Lessons Learned Review

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as part of theirComprehensive Improvement Plan in response to the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, they have a stated aim to increase case escalationwhere there are ethical considerations.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The ethical decision making model, developed in response to Recommendation 17 of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, is designed to support staff to flag possible unintended consequences to ensure that services and policies are delivered in the way that Ministers intended.The focus is on ensuring that operational staff are making the right decision first time. The model takes decision-makers through a four step process from evidence through to impact, and prompts staff to consider whether their decisions are in line with the ethical standards within the Home Office Values(Respectful, Compassionate, Collaborative and Courageous) and Civil Service Code (Integrity, Honesty, Objectivity and Impartiality). If a member of staff identifies an ethical issue, that signals a possible unintended consequence of policy, they may resolve it themselves, discuss it with a colleague, or escalate the concern as appropriate. The model will not replace the immigration rules.As part of the Comprehensive Improvement Plan, we state that we expect to see an increase in the number of cases escalated for ethical consideration. This increase will take place as the ethical decision-making model, that is currently being tested in different immigration business areas, is rolled out fully and prompts that consideration. Over the longer term, we would expect to see a decrease in the number of cases that are overturned at tribunal as the ethical decision-making model will assist decision-makers to get the decision right first time.

Biometric Residence Permits

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Biometric Residence Permit cards confirming that the holder has been granted indefinite leave to remain have been sent to an address other than the latest address on the successful applicant's record; and what plans they have to ensure that such Permits go to the correct addresses in future.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Based on the most recent data available, lost or mis-delivered Biometric Residence Permits account for less than 0.04% of Biometric Residence Permits produced for all applications granted further leave of greater than 6 months or indefinite leave to remain within the UK between 1st July 2020 and end December 2020. We are not able to break this figure down by leave type.It should be noted this data may be subject to minor change as we were actively working with FedEx to reconcile lost and mis-delivered Biometric Residence Permit deliveries between 1 July 2020 and end December 2020 by the end of May 2021.Where a customer reports a Biometric Residence Permit has been mis-delivered to either our delivery partner FedEx, or directly to UKVI, it is investigated. Where possible FedEx will attempt to recover the package and re-deliver to the correct address. Where it is not possible to recover, the BRP will be cancelled and re-issued at no cost to the customer where the mis-delivery was down to a UKVI or a FedEx error.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Question

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the amount of consumer data held by gambling operators, and (2) whether this data could be used to prevent gambling-related harm.

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the data underpinning their Review of the Gambling Act 2005; and what additional data, if any, will be needed in order to effectively review that Act.

Baroness Barran: The government announced the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December 2020, starting with a wide ranging Call for Evidence. The Call for Evidence closed on 31 March 2021 and we received c.16,000 submissions which we are carefully considering. Part of this work will include considering where additional evidence may be required. We aim to publish a white paper outlining our conclusions and policy proposals by the end of the year. The Commission requires all operators to monitor gambling activity across a range of indicators and to intervene where a customer may be at risk of harm. As part of our Review of the Gambling Act, we are looking at whether the data collected by operators, particularly remote operators, could be better deployed to support the government's objectives including the prevention of harm to children and vulnerable people.

Choirs: Coronavirus

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their COVID-19 guidance for rehearsals by non-professional choirs; when they plan to review this guidance; and whether the guidance has a statutory basis.

Baroness Barran: Non-professional groups of up to six people can now sing indoors, and can perform or rehearse in groups of up to 30 outdoors. In addition, multiple groups of 30 can now sing outdoors, provided the groups are kept separate throughout the activity, in line with other large events that follow the organised events guidance for local authorities. We know that the restrictions on singing are frustrating to large numbers of amateur choirs and performance groups across the country and that many people have made sacrifices in order to drive down infections and protect the NHS over the last year. The Performing Arts Guidance makes reference to the relevant regulations and provides recommendations for performing arts venues and operators. We expect everyone to comply with the law and the underlying guidance when arranging events or carrying out performing arts related activities.We will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review, in line with the changing situation. Further detail on step 4 will be set out as soon as possible.